“Catch my breath? Seriously?” She crossed her arms. “Is that code for something?”
“Like what?” Daric opened a travel portal. She could see it led straight to the rotunda.
“You trying to handle me?”
“You obviously can’t go back to the warehouse. At least, not until we have backup. Now that we’ve sprung his trap, he’ll be watching for you. And we need photos of those markings before he scrubs the place. So I’ll get the photos, you go home and get a group together. I’ll meet up with you once I get these markings analyzed.” He gestured toward the open portal. “After you.”
“I don’t know why we have to involve so many people in this. I’ve come this far just fine on my own.”
“I wouldn’t call it ‘fine.’ You have a demon’s tracer in you, and the shield created is cracked. You’re losing magic every minute that ticks by. And you need to complete the succession ritual before the demon gets a chance to do it on his own terms. Exactly what is it going to take for you to admit you have a problem?”
“If I find him, I can fix the problem. I have enough magic left to kick his ass.”
“Look, are we going to have foreplay all day? I can think of better locations.” Daric pointed at the portal.
“I got news for you. It’ll take a hell of a lot more than this to get into my bed.” She stalked over to the portal and stepped through.
Chapter 22
Tarian stormed through the entry and into the Rotunda, her thoughts in turmoil. The man was completely frustrating. And right. Dammit.
She nearly tripped over the small gargoyle-like statue in the center of the room, highlighted by sunbeams. The archivist sprung to life as she reached it. She’d never seen one move so quickly.
“Scion plays a dangerous game.”
“I’m not playing games. What’re you doing out here?”
Voices erupted to the point that she couldn’t make out any words. In defense, she pulled her hands away, breaking the contact. She waited for a count of five, then held her hands out again, and the daemon leapt up. When they made contact, the voices were jumbled but more subdued.
“I can’t understand you all at once like that.”
“Scion must know. Scion is vulnerable. Scion must beware of danger from within.”
“You know, that's pretty cryptic. If you're worried I'll somehow let that demon have his way with me, don't. There’s no way I’m going to have sex with that demon. Not happening.”
Voices jumbled again. She made out “sex,” “join,” “ritual,” but not a lot made sense. This time she waited for them to calm down.
“Scion must beware the ritual and the choices. No treasure is worthy.”
Why did they insist on repeating the same phrase? It wasn't helping her understand any better. She shrugged.
"What treasure?”
The silence that greeted her was deafening. Odd, after her head had been so filled with voices.
“Come on, speak up. What treasure are you talking about?”
The voices stopped. One continued in the silence. “One query at a time. Query is already running. Do you wish to abort?”
“It’s not a query. It’s just a question.”
“One query only.”
“I don’t care what your rules are. You brought this up; now explain yourselves.”
Indignation filled the voices. “WE are not servants.”
“No, you’re not. You live in the House of Xannon. That makes you family. And family helps each other out. Got it?”
The voices muttered. She heard the word “family” repeated several times.
“What treasure?”
“Scion asks the wrong question.”
“Scion thinks you’re avoiding the subject. Are you trying to say there’s something that will help me out of this situation?”
Mutters filled her head. Angry ones.
“But you don’t want me to use it?”
A long pause was followed by an actual verbal squeak from the creature in front of her. They seemed pretty upset for such a simple question. Interesting. Her pulse quickened at the thought.
“What is this treasure? You might as well tell me. If you don’t, how will I know what to avoid?” The argument sounded lame to her own ears, but still.
She waited. They seemed to be arguing. She caught flashes of images. An old woman. A book.
“What’s that book?”
Anger rippled through the thoughts in her head. The creature tried to pull his hands away but she held on tight.
“Oh, no, you aren’t running away that easy. You brought it up. Now you have to explain. What book is that?”
A single voice full of reluctance filled her head. “The Book of Daemon.”
She’d never heard of such a thing. “And what’s in it?”
“Knowledge.”
She rolled her eyes. Well, ask a stupid question. She tried again. “What specific knowledge does it contain?”
“Daemons. Demons. History. Spells.” The voice sounded defeated.
The word “spells” made her ears perk up. A book of spells, specifically for demons? Could there be a spell she could use to stop the demon stealing her power? Destroy him? Trap him? Something? The thought made her almost dizzy with excitement. Or hope.
“Where is it?”
“No treasure is worth the price.”
She let out a long sigh. “He’ll kill me if I don’t get it. He will destroy this House. Is that what you want? You live here too, you know. To me, some things are worth the price. Whatever that is.”
They muttered, then finally the one voice. “Current location is not definitively known.”
Of course it wasn’t. It would be too easy to think the book was sitting here in her own archives.
She had a solid lead to something that might help. Now all she had to do was find it. She could tell by their tone that the archivists had done all they were going to do. She dropped his hands, and the creature dissolved in front of her. Back to the archives, she assumed.
A book of spells against demons sounded like exactly the breakthrough she needed. She’d never heard of it, though she did know of one similar filled with Society information. It wasn’t surprising to hear the daemon had one of their own. She’d have to ask Calliope or Frankie for more information about a book. Except there was no way she would wake her sister right now, not with her so exhausted. She’d start with Frankie and his database.
Angry voices drifted through the partially open doors of the Receiving Hall, startling her from her thoughts. Surprised, she pulled one open further so she could hear better. Her mother appeared to have the upper hand in the conversation, but Advisor Jonus raised his voice and gestured with more animated than she’d ever seen from him.
“Absolutely not. She shouldn’t be anywhere near that woman, especially now. I don’t care what book she’s hiding.” Her mother stalked from one side of the platform to the other.
“Keeper, I understand your concern, but Tarian is the only one who is capable of reaching her. All other ways have been blocked. She won’t come to us. We must go to her.”
“Then I’ll go myself.”
“Begging your pardon, but that’s simply not possible. It will take someone with tracking talent, Air based talent, to get to her. Yours is Earth and Water based, and not compatible. And even if she is able to track the location, I’m not sure it’s possible.”
What’s not possible? Curious, Tarian pushed the door all the way open. “Did someone say tracking talent?”
Her mother paused mid-step. The startled look on her face would have been amusing in other circumstances.
“Who needs to be tracked?” Tarian crossed the room on a direct path for her mother.
“As I was saying to Advisor Jonus, it’s out of the question.” Her mother shot a look of pure poison at Jonus.
He cleared his throat but didn’t look away.
Tarian reached the platform and climbed the three steps so
she would be on even ground with her mother. “Does this have anything to do with the Book of Daemon?”
Her mother’s eyes widened. Advisor Jonus coughed.
Her mother turned to Jonus, pure fury in her eyes. Tarian saw the Dolphin Throne begin to glow in response to her mother’s anger and spoke quickly to ease the tension.
“He didn’t say anything to me, Mother. It’s not his fault. Do you know who has the book?”
Jonus looked at her mother, the clear question in his eyes. When she turned away, he cleared his throat and muttered, “It was last seen in the possession of a woman named Sucole Poole.”
“Never heard of her. Do you have anything she’s held that I can use to track her?”
Her mother sat down in the Dolphin Throne and glared at the empty space in front of her.
“I…” Jonus looked from Tarian to her mother, clearly uncertain whether to continue.
Her mother closed her eyes, and a glow from the throne surrounded her. What the hell was she doing?
After a moment, her mother sighed and opened her eyes. The look she gave Tarian was one of exasperation and fear. “Is there any way you can do this from here? From this room?”
Tarian shook her head. “I can’t track from inside the House. Too much interference. And I can’t just give someone else an address. I have to go myself. It’s the only way it works.”
Keeper Marielle nodded, then sat staring at Tarian as if she’d never seen her daughter before.
Tarian took her mother’s hand and squeezed it. “I’ve been trained to fight. I control three elements of power, more than anyone has seen in generations. I can do this.”
“This woman is…difficult. No amount of magic will make her easier to deal with. The book itself is dangerous. I’m not sure the risk is worth it.”
No treasure is worth the price.
“I won’t point out the obvious.” Tarian put a hand on the back of her neck and rubbed at the knot there. Next to a demon, dealing with one difficult woman should be a lot easier. She needed the book. Screw the archivists. “Who is she? How do you know about this book?”
Her mother gestured at Jonus, who cleared his throat again and stepped forward. He held a coin out to Tarian.
“Sucole Poole was once a powerful member of Society, with a strong base in both Water and Earth. She loved research. One day, she followed her research down an unfortunate path with the consequence that she had to be removed from Society. She’s in self-imposed exile, but she left this as a way to find her in an emergency. I’m not even sure how it works. She has knowledge, and she was the last to see the book. If anyone knows where it might be, it’s her. No daemon would give us the information, even if we asked, since the book could be used against them. And if anything could help us in this situation, it’s that book.”
Tarian took the coin and stared at it. It was about the size of a quarter, but instead of a heads and tails it had raised bumps all over one side, and on the other words etched into the metal.
“There are none so blind as those who will not see.”
“Very philosophical.” Tarian ran her fingers over the raised bumps. Braille? “Is she blind?”
“She is…constricted.” Jonus sounded stiff.
“How strong is she?” Tarian looked at her mother, then Jonus. Her mother spoke first.
“It’s not a question of power or strength. She can’t use her magic to attack anymore, or I’d never let you track her down. She’s paying a high price for dabbling where she shouldn’t have.” Her mother’s lips quirked. “A lesson other people should learn.”
“I don’t dabble.” Tarian closed her hand around the coin and let her senses drift along it. A hint of a signal drifted back to her. Wherever Sucole Poole was, it was a long way from the Pacific.
“Tarian. If you do this, you should know she’s not the most reliable of people. She’s been twisted by life and by practicing things she didn’t understand. She can’t be trusted, even though she can do no direct physical harm to you. I’m just not sure the book is worth the price you might have to pay.”
No treasure is worth the price.
Her mother’s words echoed those of the archivists so closely, it gave her goosebumps.
“Does anyone have any clue where she lives?”
Jonus shook his head. “No, Scion.”
“Guess I’ll have to do this the hard way, then.”
“I suppose you’ll ignore anything I say at this point.” Her mother frowned.
“That all depends on what you say.” Tarian smiled. “If you tell me I should do whatever it takes to solve this threat to our family, then I’ll listen 100 percent. If you tell me I should sit in my room and wait for disaster to strike, then I’ll find another way out. Again.”
“Nobody is saying we should wait for disaster. But there’s a time for caution and prudence. A time to plan and strategize.”
“So I’ve been told. We’ve been formulating a plan, but this book could really be the key to success. Everyone else is doing their part to solve this. I have to do mine. You understand that, right?” She kept her hands pinned down by her side instead of rubbing her stomach. “I need to complete the ritual and find a way to stop the demon, or the Dolphin Throne is up for grabs. That’s the reality. And it’s all sitting on my shoulders. It’s not like you can complete the ritual for me, Mother.”
Her mother looked at her so long, Tarian’s face heated up under the scrutiny.
“You have help here, Tarian. Here, you are protected by the magic embedded in the very framework of the house. Here, you have a buffer against the threat. And the throne itself is not helpless. Neither is the person who sits on it.”
“I don’t have the right to call on the throne’s protection, and if I don’t solve this problem I’ll never have the right. Some puppet form of me will. And I’m not going to let that happen. I’m just not.”
“Neither will I.” Her mother leaned back into the chair. “Exactly what do you hope to accomplish with this book?”
“I hope it will show me how to contain this demon, if not completely destroy him. We know where the demon will be. The archivists told me the Book of Daemon has what I need. I believe them.”
Her mother narrowed her eyes. “Is that all they told you?”
She didn’t want to outright lie to her mother, but she didn’t want to tell her the truth either. She shifted from one foot to the other. “They seemed concerned about the ritual, more than anything.”
“It seems you have a plan for that too?”
“I’m working on it.”
Her mother’s lips twitched, but she didn’t say anything. Thank goodness. She didn’t feel like discussing her sex life with her mother.
Her mother nodded. “Tarian, you are my daughter. Your safety, above everything else, is my concern. Please don’t put yourself at risk by rushing in where you should pause and think. Sucole speaks in riddles. Be sure you’ve solved them before you move forward.”
“What harm could a riddle do? I’m not planning on doing anything but tracking her down, asking for the book and leaving. It’s as simple as that.”
“Life is rarely simple.”
Her mother’s eyes were so full of pride, frustration and concern that Tarian felt herself stand straighter. She wanted to be worthy of all of that in her mother’s eyes. “So I’m beginning to understand.”
She left her mother staring after her, Jonus beside her as the ever-faithful watchdog.
Chapter 23
Somehow, Tarian wasn’t surprised to find Alex hovering just outside the door to the Receiving Hall. The entry Sentinels probably snitched on her the second after she passed through the entry. She wasn’t surprised to see the over-protective look on his face or the crossed arms either.
“Where did you go, chica? You know the dudes in the kitchen are being disciplined now.”
“I didn’t mean to get them in trouble, Alex. I had to go out.”
“Out where? What could po
ssibly be more important than your safety? Scion.” Alex stood in front of her, refusing to budge.
“How about a little girl’s safety, Alex? Three of them, to be exact. Three innocent, beautiful girls were ripped away from their lives and their families, because of me. How’s that for a reason?”
Alex shook his head. “What happened? That why Voltain was hitting on you?”
“He wasn’t hitting on me.” She caught the glint in Alex’s eyes and relented. “Not exactly. But yes, he asked for my help in finding these girls, so I helped. Just like I helped you when you asked for it.”
“Yeah, see how that turned out.” Alex puffed air out his nose like a rhinoceros getting ready to charge. “You shouldn’ta done it, chica. You shouldn’t be sneaking out.”
“I didn’t exactly have time to assemble an army, Alex. We had to move fast, and we had to be quiet. You know what happened to Chester. You know what would have happened to those girls. I couldn’t let it. It’s because of me they were even taken.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do. I really do, Alex.”
“Explain it to me, chica. Make me understand why your life was worth risking.”
“Daric knew Chester and his cousin snatched these girls, but he didn’t know where they were taken. When we found them, it was pretty damn obvious. The demon had them, spelled and ready, in an abandoned warehouse, surrounded by really old ritual markings, a power circle, and my name written in blood on the floor. Not sure what his plan is, but Daric is checking on it. This is good news, Alex. We saved them. They’re alive, because we found them fast enough. And now we’re one up on him. Don’t you get it? We’re a step ahead now.”
“No. I don’t get it.”
“We know the demon will go back there. He wasn’t done with…whatever it was. Now we just need a way to catch him when he shows up.”
“What you mean by ‘we’? You mean you and Daric?” Alex thrust out his chin. “You mean you and Calliope? You and the Keeper? ‘Cause I know you don’t mean you and me.”
Seeing the hurt look on his face made her pause. “You have a problem, Alex?”
Demons & Djinn: Nine Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Novels Featuring Demons, Djinn, and other Bad Boys of the Underworld Page 127
